Palettes / Colors / #BDBCDB

#BDBCDB — Light Dusty Blue

#BDBCDB is a blue color we call Light Dusty Blue, closest to the named color Thistle (#D8BFD8). It belongs to the blue family.

Color name

Closest CSS keyword: thistle (#D8BFD8) — not an exact match. CSS thistle gives you #D8BFD8, a different color; use #BDBCDB when you need this exact shade.

Sources: common names follow widely used color-name references; CSS keywords and their hex values follow the CSS Color specification.

#BDBCDB is a cool blue color associated with trust, calm and professionalism. It is light enough to work as a background or base color, with darker text on top.

Its strongest partner is its complement #DADBBD; it also sits naturally between #BDCBDB and #CDBDDB. In the palettes below you can see it working alongside real color combinations from our collection.

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Color values

RGB & CMYK percentages

Red 74% · Green 74% · Blue 86%

Cyan 14% · Magenta 14% · Yellow 0% · Key 14%

CMYK values are unprofiled approximations for screen reference — not a print-proofing guarantee.

Previews

CSS code for #BDBCDB

.text { color: #BDBCDB; }
.background { background-color: #BDBCDB; }
.border { border: 3px solid #BDBCDB; }
.text-rgb { color: rgb(189, 188, 219); }
.text-hsl { color: hsl(242, 30%, 80%); }
.text-shadow-hex { text-shadow: 4px 4px 2px #BDBCDB; }
.text-shadow-rgba { text-shadow: 4px 4px 2px rgba(189, 188, 219, 0.8); }
.box-shadow-hex { box-shadow: 1px 1px 3px 2px #BDBCDB; }
.box-shadow-rgba { box-shadow: 1px 1px 3px 2px rgba(189, 188, 219, 0.8); }

HTML: <p style="color:#BDBCDB">Text here</p> · <div style="background-color:#BDBCDB">Div content here</div>

Shades of #BDBCDB

Tints of #BDBCDB

Tones of #BDBCDB

Color harmonies

Complementary — #DADBBD:

Analogous:

Triadic:

Contrast & accessibility

Best text color on #BDBCDB: #000000.

Semi-transparent (opacity) text on #BDBCDB

Text set with opacity blends into the background, so its real contrast is lower than the solid ratios above. Choose a text color and an opacity to see the blended color and its true ratio:

How #BDBCDB looks with color blindness

Simulated with standard Machado color-vision-deficiency matrices — useful when this color carries meaning in charts, maps or interfaces:

Closest design-system colors

The nearest matches in the Tailwind CSS, Material Design and Bootstrap palettes — handy when you need a framework class instead of a raw hex:

Palettes with a similar color

These palettes use a close neighbour of #BDBCDB rather than the exact color:

Similar colors

The closest colors that actually appear in our palette collection — click any to open its page:

Browse neighbouring colors

← #BDBCDA  ·  #BDBCDC →

Frequently asked questions

What color is #BDBCDB?

#BDBCDB is Light Dusty Blue, a blue color (RGB 189, 188, 219). Its closest standard named color is Thistle.

What is the RGB and HSL of #BDBCDB?

#BDBCDB is RGB 189, 188, 219 — HSL 242°, 30%, 80% — CMYK 14%, 14%, 0%, 14%.

What colors go with #BDBCDB?

Its complement is #DADBBD; analogous partners are #BDCBDB and #CDBDDB. It also appears in 6+ palettes in our collection.

Can I use #BDBCDB for text?

Black text on #BDBCDB has a contrast ratio of 11.38:1 (passes WCAG AA); white text gives 1.85:1.